Gotta love the legs

[wolfyEVH]

Oh so i guess alot of Pro bodybuilders are also since alot of them use the smith machine.

actually yes.....you'd be surprised to know how many pro bodybuilders are gay or bi.......smith machine serves its purposes however.......it makes a great coat rack!!!

in all seriousness.......squats on a smithmachine don't compare to regular squats in a squat rack.....of course you do less weight, but when working out, leave your ego at home

 

[big o]

Well IMO there's no better workout than squatting....I too love the low rep,power type squat but my 47 year old body can't handle the poundind like I used too....I'm sticking with reps of 6 and I'm using the hack squat for my reps on my quads.....If you want to gain get out of the fucking smith machine crap....Get under the bar,bury every rep to the floor and explode out of the whole.....I've squatted 745 under USPF rules....I went to a seminar many years ago and I was able to pull my hero aside and have a private conversation with him...he was fucking huge and fucking ripped....His name was Tom Platz....he was my hero....He was straight up on every question I asked him...He did a tremendous amount of monkey growth hormone.....I was a ridiculous amount of money he spent..If memory serves me correctly I think he said about $2000 a week......That's out of my league.....He told me if you want to grow your legs bury everything to the floor......I did and I gained alot because of that...at 1 time I had a 30 1/2" left leg and a 30" right leg with a pretty good hammy...Squat Free

 

[pincrusher]

for everyone who says you cant get big legs with the smith machine, please explain my 28"+ legs that have been trained using only the smith machine for squats. i think people underestimate the ability of the smith machine cause they feel it assists to much but if you use it correctly it can be just as good as free squats.
its much easier to do front squats with a heavy load on the smith machine than you will ever be able to do in a power rack.

 

[mojo]

I gotta agree with pin here, The smith machine might help stabalize you and the weight more but you are still pushing the damn weight. And for anyone who has ever torn an ACL, the added security is nice.

 

[big o]

There's not a guy in the world pin who squats over 700 that does it with the smith machine..Granted it's probably a very good finishing exercise for the cutting aspect of it....The squat out off the rack builds stomach,back and everything else...To take it to the next level...bottom line power squats,buried....machine is way to restrictive and getting the bar low on the back is pretty hard to do in the smith..I'm talking below the head of your shoulders low so there only leg and hip being worked..I see way to many people with sissy foam thingy's and squatting way to high and never using the full potential of the squat....IMO it's the base of all bases...NO power no size...

 

[big o]

Mojo... I have no ACL...and I do mean no ACL....I have no lateral stability....also in DEC..I'm scheduled for my 4th left knee operation...out side and inside tears,a scraping and I have a cyst growing behind my knee cap.....I've only been back to the gym for a short time now...I took a 15 year lay off....I'm going into month # 4 and I'm squatting 505,buried for 6..a hard 6th one but it is what it is....I'm not doing anything for pwoer at all...I'm starting adrol tonite for 4-6 weeks and then I'm off....I can imagine the gains I'll get..OH Boy!!!!....Adrol is my favorite...It just doesn't let me sleep fpr 2 long at nite.....My B/P was get this guys....135/88 with norvasx....Oh BoY!

 

[mojo]

Mojo... I have no ACL...and I do mean no ACL....I have no lateral stability....also in DEC..I'm scheduled for my 4th left knee operation...out side and inside tears,a scraping and I have a cyst growing behind my knee cap.....I've only been back to the gym for a short time now...I took a 15 year lay off....I'm going into month # 4 and I'm squatting 505,buried for 6..a hard 6th one but it is what it is....I'm not doing anything for pwoer at all...I'm starting adrol tonite for 4-6 weeks and then I'm off....I can imagine the gains I'll get..OH Boy!!!!....Adrol is my favorite...It just doesn't let me sleep fpr 2 long at nite.....My B/P was get this guys....135/88 with norvasx....Oh BoY!

BigO,
I'm not saying heavy free squats are not the king of all leg exercises, they in fact are, but to say that smith machine squats are not effective is BS. My 28 1/2" legs would tend to disagree, and thats hard to pack onto a 6'4" frame. But for me, 1 knee surgery and 1 reconstructed ankle was plenty so I'm gonna stick with what gives me enough support to stay healthy and avoid the crazy amounts of surgery's you have been through.

 

[big o]

Very,Very Very good point....It's what your body tells you and how you feel...I'm sorry if I offended you MoJo or Pin..That was not my intenet....It's just alot of times I here all these upper body people in the gym coming up with every fucking excuse not to squat..and it's all fucking bullshit...they just want t o look pretty without doing to much to sweat or pay there dues....I guess MOJO it's all about paying your dues and it sounds like you payed yours.....Hey is that Paula Abdul on your avatar?

 

[mojo]

Very,Very Very good point....It's what your body tells you and how you feel...I'm sorry if I offended you MoJo or Pin..That was not my intenet....It's just alot of times I here all these upper body people in the gym coming up with every fucking excuse not to squat..and it's all fucking bullshit...they just want t o look pretty without doing to much to sweat or pay there dues....I guess MOJO it's all about paying your dues and it sounds like you payed yours.....Hey is that Paula Abdul on your avatar?

No offense taken BigO, We have alot of those types at my gym who love to work upper body only and then wear pants year round to cover up there chicken legs. The avatar is Carmen Electra. Just measured the legs too! only 27 3/4" Guess I lost a little size on them since the anadrol cycle ended several weeks ago. Damn water retention.

 

[ORACLE]

I don't agree with the smith machine controversy. I would like to say that when i'm under the bar it still feels like alot of weight and i'm still working my legs. Regardless if it's helping to keep my stable and assisting me. Obviously it's not the same weight (number wise) because theirs not real weight from the bar...however it's the same movement.

 

[wolfyEVH]

I don't agree with the smith machine controversy. I would like to say that when i'm under the bar it still feels like alot of weight and i'm still working my legs. Regardless if it's helping to keep my stable and assisting me. Obviously it's not the same weight (number wise) because theirs not real weight from the bar...however it's the same movement.

no its not the same movement...it isnt natural......when you do a regular squat, there is more of an arching movement......with smith machine, all you have to do is get under and push with all your mite......

regarding pins statement, of course you'll still work your legs....but you're not working them as well as you could with squats..you're pretty much only doing quads...you might as well just do legs press as that would be more effective than smith machine squats.....you'll be using a lot more muscles from free weight squats. A lot more lower back and abs......squats can greatly improve posture. also, if there is nothing wrong with smith machine...why not do smith machine for all your lifts.......deadlift, bench, etc??? absolutely nothing can take the place of regular free weight squats....it is impossible. if you're using smith machine and its working for you, keep it up, but remember that you can be gaining a lot more from the free weight ones......also pin you got 28+ inch legs from this....for someone your height and the number of cycles you've done, i'd hope they're 28+ even from not doing squats.....just my opinion

 

[kell11]

no its not the same movement...it isnt natural......when you do a regular squat, there is more of an arching movement......with smith machine, all you have to do is get under and push with all your mite......

regarding pins statement, of course you'll still work your legs....but you're not working them as well as you could with squats..you're pretty much only doing quads...you might as well just do legs press as that would be more effective than smith machine squats.....you'll be using a lot more muscles from free weight squats. A lot more lower back and abs......squats can greatly improve posture. also, if there is nothing wrong with smith machine...why not do smith machine for all your lifts.......deadlift, bench, etc??? absolutely nothing can take the place of regular free weight squats....it is impossible. if you're using smith machine and its working for you, keep it up, but remember that you can be gaining a lot more from the free weight ones......also pin you got 28+ inch legs from this....for someone your height and the number of cycles you've done, i'd hope they're 28+ even from not doing squats.....just my opinion

I kind of agree with wolfy on this...On the other hand,I couldn't care less about debating about it.
Whatever works for you.Whatever you,the individual prefer.

 

[Freejay]

Well, I wish I had some positive input, but I rarely work legs (bad boy I know). My quads are already 26 inches just natural. I will be starting to do some seated presses and such on my back or shoulder day.

 

[wolfyEVH]

Well, I wish I had some positive input, but I rarely work legs (bad boy I know). My quads are already 26 inches just natural. I will be starting to do some seated presses and such on my back or shoulder day.

if anything, you should be working legs as your number 1 lift, considering they are over 50% of your bodys total muscles. Start doing squats and you'll be growing at an extraordinary rate......and alway remember this......

a man with a weak upper body and strong lower body is always stronger than a man with a strong upper body and weak lower body. neglecting legs THE worst thing you can do in bodybuilding

 

[Freejay]

if anything, you should be working legs as your number 1 lift, considering they are over 50% of your bodys total muscles. Start doing squats and you'll be growing at an extraordinary rate......and alway remember this......

a man with a weak upper body and strong lower body is always stronger than a man with a strong upper body and weak lower body. neglecting legs THE worst thing you can do in bodybuilding

I hear you brother. I'm on it.

 

[ORACLE]

neglecting legs THE worst thing you can do in bodybuilding

That's why i incorporated them in after all these years

 

[heavy]

Start doing squats and you'll be growing at an extraordinary rate......and alway remember this......

Wolfy is dead on about this. I didnt start gaining weight until I started hitting the squats hard, ass to the floor. The lifts that put the most stress on the body, and are the most physically taxing are generally the lifts that will make your body grow better than anything else.

 

[mr.nitrofish]

Is it like the first one or the second one? The second pic is the shitty kind of leg press that will F your back up. The first one is fine.

I do the first one, Ill usually press 18 45lb plates. but thats only if I press with my feet high, if they are lower I can only do 12.

do you think those are as effective as squats?

 

[big o]

Wolfy..your dead on brother....another exercise i like is the hack with my legs really close together so my quads burn....I do reps of 12 -15 and really feel them the next day...I use that for my finishing excercise...I have to be honest with you I get nothing from leg presses....I feel it's the lazy way out....The squat is by far the best of all exercises....but if you have an injury your training around then it's still better than doing no squating....Smith is too restrictive for me....

 

[pincrusher]

i use what works best for me whether others agree or not! i also take my squats all the way down till my heels hit my butt cheeks despite using the smith machine. every day at the gym i watch people using the power rack for squats and they only go 1/3 of the way down so i know im getting alot more out of it then they are.
i used to use the power rack in the past when i was younger,hell when i was doing some crazy dosage anavar cycles back then when i was in my early 20's, i could squat 400lbs weighting only 130lbs. i just prefer to use the smith machine when i am working out because i work out alone and usually only have a bunch of women at the gym, none of which would be able to give me a good spot.
one other note is that i have a very good friend i sometimes work out with who uses the smith machine exclusively for squats & benching and he is going to the usa's this year and expects to place pretty high!!!!